Why does HIS discipline require HER disappearance?

I rarely get tempted to discuss current affairs and politics on my blog.

But I’ve had a bit of history with this one. So bear with me please.

A year or two ago, I hosted a talk at Intel on behalf of BAPS. As I was helping the core team with the logistics, I was told to ask all the women who came to attend the talk NOT to sit in the first five rows of the auditorium.

As bizarre as it sounded, it was a catch-22 situation for me. I couldn’t walk away from the commitment I had made to help the team with the work event. And I felt very conflicted from within on following through with this ask.

When time came to ask anonymous questions to the speaker (a prominent and well respected BAPS monk), I posted this question to him. “Why were women asked not to sit in the front rows of today’s event?”

I wish he had answered it as eloquently as the rest of his speech. He didn’t. He couldn’t. He instead just said that as part of the strict celibacy rules that they are required to practice, this is necessary. It is to uphold the tradition. 

That brings me to the current news story below:

https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/08/travel/eiffel-tower-strike-female-staff-baps-hindu-group-intl-hnk

I have a problem with what happened at the Eiffel Tower recently.

First of all, it is a public monument. Not a temple. Anyone who wants to visit must respect the employees who work there daily. 

Why do women working there have to be at the receiving end, and bear the burden of accommodating BAPS religious beliefs?

I have heard from friends that women are not considered or treated as inferior by BAPS. So then why does accommodating their sadhu’s discipline require regulating women? 

When a man’s religious discipline and a woman’s mere presence intersect at a public monument, why is it that a woman’s presence becomes the center of negotiation?

I’m appalled.

Imagine if we replace women with black people. And say all black people need to disappear. It would be called racism.

Or if we said all Jews need to disappear. Then it would be labeled as antisemitism.

Double standards are never nice.

I feel the BAPS organization must reflect on this internally. They may have rules, traditions, assumptions. But as time goes by, it is important to continue to examine them. As societies evolve, perhaps religious practices can also adapt to the changing world. It is a great opportunity to show the world that respect for equality and dignity of women in our modern world is as important as any other religious belief. 

The question that has always deeply troubled me is this:

“Why does managing male sexuality so often require regulating female presence?”

Women are constantly told by men, or the society, on what to wear, how to behave, what to say, when to keep quiet, where and when to go, etc 

Cover yourself

Don’t enter a temple on your period

Don’t travel alone at night

Don’t wear revealing outfits

Watch what you say in public 

Sit separately in places of worship

Don’t distract men

I don’t see these rules for men. And I can’t help noticing how many of these rules emerged from institutions historically controlled by men in power. 

The fundamental irony of this whole thing is that every man entered this world through a woman. And yet women have spent centuries living under rules largely created by men. 

As a woman, let me tell you that this is tiring. As a mother raising a daughter, I SO hope that she is the recipient of a world who makes it easier for women. Not harder every step of the way. 

I sincerely hope this incident is not taken as an anti-Hindu sentiment, but as an opportunity to introspect and perhaps pivot towards equality for women!!